Oil Refineries Have a Moral Imperative to Fix the Air Pollution Problem They're Causing

July 11, 2014 3:15 PM

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When I moved with my family from California to Utah nine years ago, I was stunned by the horrible air quality in this otherwise gorgeous mountain state. Day after day, during that first winter, we were smothered in breath-taking blanket of smog. Back then, I knew little about how air pollution impacted our health, but as a mother, I instinctively felt air this dirty could only be harmful to my two young daughters. I had the sensation I was locking my two daughters in a windowless room full of chain smokers.

Soon after, a new group called Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment held a press conference confirming that this air pollution was making our kids sick. Breathing Salt Lake City's dirty air during a 24-hour winter inversion is virtually the same as smoking half a pack of cigarettes. Our bodies ...